Cheek Stripes
by Reillusioned
Summary: AU After 20th or so book. On a mission up North, Ino gets more than she bargained for. Only someone in the same situatuion as her would be able to help. And that person is... Naruto?
1. Of snow and Snow

**Name:** Cheek Stripes

**Authoress:** Kitsune On Prozac (Rei)

**Disclaimer:** All Naruto characters are property of Masashi Kishimoto. Except Rokubi, Yukifuri and the rest of the Hidden Snow. Those are mine. And the bitchy cashier lady.

Ino pulled the loose purple fabric over the bottom of her face. Asuma-sensei was a few feet ahead of her, and Shikamaru a few feet behind her. Chouji was bringing up the rear, huffing and puffing up the side of the mountain.

"Whose bright idea was this?" She muttered to herself.

A day and a half ago, Asuma had come running into the field where Team Ten usually met. Shikamaru had been lying on the grass, staring at the sky, Chouji sitting under a tree eating, and Ino sitting above Chouji dozing.

"Get your act in gear, Team!" yelled Asuma. Chouji ignored the sensei while Ino and Shikamaru winced. Asuma-sensei was rarely this energetic. Perhaps he had been hanging around Gai too much.

Asuma skidded to a stop. "We have a very important mission. Get up and go pack for a _very _cold journey."

So here they were, climbing a mountain in the Ice nation, trying to find a petty thief. As they reached the top of the mountain, the sensei paused to let the others catch up. Below them was something out of a postcard; a gently sloping valley, and nestled in it's depths a small, cozy village. The entire scene was backlit by a fierce red sunset. The view was only slightly ruined in it's homely look by the fact that the Village's building's were obviously of ninja origin, and that said ninja were bustling about their daily lives as darkness fell. No matter, it was still pretty. Asuma smiled his usual smile at the scene below, as Ino tried to sponge it all in at once, Shikamaru looked uninterested, and Chouji panted for breath.

"Asuma-sensei, who are chasing again?" Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow.

The sensei's smiled became more forced. "Thief, presumed between 20-25, five feet six inches, kunoichi of the Hidden Snow."

Ino looked puzzled. "You still haven't told us the stolen item in question."

Asuma looked down at the town, scanning it for signs of the described thief. "A scroll."

All hell broke loose. "A STINKING SCROLL?" yelled Ino. Shikamaru sighed and made to turn around and head back down the mountain. Chouji started choking on his food and fell over. Unfortunately, on his way down he grabbed Shikamaru and knocked Ino over, whose boot got caught in Shikamaru's thick robes, while Ino grabbed onto her sensei, giving him a glare that said 'If we survive this you are _so_ dead'. Then, the entire team went rolling down the mountain, coughing and spluttering the whole way.

Rolling into a snowball and smashing your way into an enemy village is not generally considered the stealthy approach. Ninjas are supposed to be stealthy.

Apparently, Team Ten needed some work in that department.

They finally came to a stop by tumbling into a snow bank. As the white powder settled, the curious Snow-nin looked on as one by one the snow-covered heads of the Leaf-nin popped out of the snow bank. Except Shikamaru. He thought it was too troublesome.

Ino was about to start yelling at her sensei when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. It was a young woman with white hair, clutching a scroll that must have been almost four feet long. Suddenly all of her attention was focused on the Snow kunoichi. Climbing out of the snow, she addressed her teacher without turning around. "Sensei, is that her?"

She walked quickly over to the young woman, the rest of her team close behind (even if Shikamaru was only starting to pull himself out of the snow). The ninja looked frightened and clutched the scroll tighter. Ino noticed for the first time the stripe marks on her cheeks.

"You don't understand! I need this!" She yelled.

"Shut up, thief." Ino growled. She was cold. She wanted to go home already.

Shikamaru obviously felt the same way. Giving the kunoichi a glare he pressed his hands into the all-too familiar seal. Because the sun was almost set, he had virtually miles of shadow to work with. The Snow nin was pinned down, unable to move. Ino closed her eyes and entered the other kunoichi's mind, keeping her not only from moving but from fighting back. Chouji walked up to her and Ino, in the Snow-nin's body, handed him the scroll with a wry smile. While doing it she noticed something very odd. It was not unlike what she had experienced during the Chunnin exams against Sakura. Though this was not another personality, but some larger force, held firmly at bay by the Snow nin…

"Chouji, look out!" Cried Shikamaru.

The next few moments seemed to pass in slow motion for Ino. Chouji turning around, and backing off to the side. Shuriken, thrown by another Snow-nin trying to help an ally, coming towards her face. Shikamaru, too stunned to unbind her host. A low, inhuman voice at the back of her mind. "_Get out, now!"_

Ino withdrew her mind from the Snow-nin's only to open her own eyes and see the shuriken bury themselves in the girl's throat. As the kunoichi fell backwards, blood spurting from her neck, Ino felt a stabbing pain in her neck and realized that the connection was still open. A pair of golden-green eyes opened in front of her eyes as she felt herself black out, and the last thing she heard before she went under was a deep, maniacal cackling.

(-)

Ino felt warmer than she had in days. Cracking her eyes open, she realized she was in a large wood-paneled room. A rather high-pitched voice came from near her feet. "How's the Gaijin?"

A cough was heard, this time from nearer her head. "It's a Leaf-nin, Koorikage-Sama. And we've confirmed that the creature has taken residence in her."

"Very well then. Perform the sealing."

"_No, NO! Don't let them seal me! I don't want to be trapped again! Don't keep me in here!"_

"…Yes madam."

Deciding that there was no way that this was not a dream and she was really being carried towards Konoha on Asuma's back, Ino made up her mind and went back to sleep.

(-)

Ino opened her eyes slowly, watching a blurry grey world rock by. A small smile played across her lips. Of course she had just been dreaming. She was on Asuma's back, just like she thought. He and Shikamaru were having a hushed exchange in low voices. Aside from a splitting headache, she felt fine. Perking up, she raised her head and muttered sleepily. "You can put me down, sensei."

The sound of her voice startled the two of them out of their conversation. Asuma skidded to a stop and set her down on the ground.

"So, how long have I been out?" She said pleasurably. Then, she looked around. They were barely past the snow line. They couldn't be more than a few hours away from the Hidden Snow. By all rights, they should be almost to Konoha by now. "How long have we been travelling?"

Chouji leaned into her view, looking worried. "You've been out for more than a day." He supplied. Ino frowned unhappily. Had they been travelling ridiculously slowly for her sake?

"_Don't count on it."_ The bitter-sounding voice seemed to come from her own head.

"We left as soon as we got you back."

"Back? From who?" She gave Shikamaru a confused look.

"The Koorikage. She just sort of handed you over and said you couldn't come back to the village. Gave us a weird smile. Let us keep the scroll and everything."

The Koorikage? Ino paused. Hadn't she dreamt that up?

Something occurred to the blond kunoichi. "Asuma-sensei? Why was a simple scroll so important?"

Asuma shuffled uncomfortably. "Well, you see, the scroll contains important Konoha history, and secret ninjutsu used only by the Leaf…"

Shikamaru gave his teacher a strange look. One that said he had an idea of what was on the scroll and would find out as soon as they got home.

Chouji paused, looking like he was about to point something out. "Uh, Ino?"

"Yes?" She snapped. Ino was not a happy person right now.

""Nothing." He covered quickly.

The others shrugged and picked up their gear, getting ready to set out. Leaping up and heading towards the small scrap of woodland, the Leaf-nins picked up the pace. They wanted to be in Konoha by nightfall.

Chouji hung back, thinking to himself. Finally, he shrugged and went after his teamates.

They'd notice soon enough.

(-)

"_Stupid kitling. Your mental powers made you wide open. I could have gone into any ninja in that crowd. Stayed back and showed that stupid village. But you went and killed my host. You just had to keep the mental link open, didn't you? I was like water down a channel. Now I'm sealed inside you and stuck in this unbearably hot country. Why would anyone chose to live here? Filthy humans."_

Ino opened her eyes, moaning groggily. Another strange dream. All she could remember was a feeling of pent up energy, and the rustle of fur brushing against metal bars.

The girl changed out of her pyjamas and into the clothes she usually wore when not on a mission; Purple tank top with an oversized collar and large purple sleeves held in place at her elbows bysilver ribbons. Strapping her shuriken holster over her black pants on her thigh, Ino grimaced. Just because she had a rough weekend didn't mean that there wouldn't be training today.

Ino pulled her hair into a ponytail, as per usual. Though it was shorter than it was three years ago, she still let a strand fall in front of her face. She considered it a trademark.

Looking into the mirror, Ino paused, touching her face gently. There were three thin, black stripes on each cheek. And…

"Are my eyes darker?" She muttered.

"_No, you're insane."_

"Oh, that's alright then." Ino said sarcastically. Great, now she was talking to herself.

"_Of course you are." _Continued the voice. _"Bloody stupid kit to get trapped in."_

(-)

"Mom!" Ino called. "I'm going to get some groceries!"

At the checkout, the cashier stared dully at Ino's purchases. Fertalizer, a bag of cookies, a magazine and some bacon. Ino found she had an indescribable craving for bacon.

"That'll be eleven-fifty, please."

_Isn't that that bitchy little kunoichi? What's wrong with her face?_

Ino froze. "Excuse me?" She said dubiously.

"I didn't say anything."

_Is she trying to look like that fox bastard?_

Ino gritted her teeth. "If you have something to tell me, say it to my face." The cashier gave her a surprised look.

_Oh, shit, is she unbalanced?_

The blond girl ground her teeth some more and dropped twelve dollars on the counter, grabbing her purchases and storming out.

Walking quickly through the wide, sunny street, nothing happened to lighten her mood. Her headache was back, and it was magnifying everything. It sounded like hundreds of people were talking at once right in her ears, but she looked around and saw that only a few couples were chatting and the rest of Konoha was, for the most part, quiet.

It had been a lot quieter since Naruto left.

'Huh?' She hadn't thought about Naruto in ages. Hadn't he been on Sakura's team? Team seven had been pretty much disbanded. After all, the main star had gone to work with Orochimaru. Sakura was smart, but she wasn't an Uchiha or Hyuuga. Other than healing, she wasn't good for much. And Naruto…

Yeah. Naruto.

"_Interesting. This boy, he showed no promise?"_

Well, not really, she admitted. His progress had been amazing. He even beat the Hyuuga boy. Everyone had expected him to get creamed.

"_Wasn't Hyuuga the clan you compared this Sakura girl to?"_

Um… Ino didn't really have an answer to that.

"_Didn't you say this Sakura kit was better than Naruto?"_

Ino didn't really know what to say to that.

"Mom?" Ino said as she walked in the door. Her mother was sitting at the kitchen table, lounging back and reading the paper. "I have a bit of a problem."

The woman smiled good-naturedly. Boy trouble, no doubt.

"I think I might be paranoid schizophrenic."

Ino's mother stared at her daughter. The cigarette she had been smoking fell out of her mouth and landed on the newspaper, still burning.

"MOM!"

The woman shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She picked up the cigarette and put it out on the newspaper. She _so_ did not want to deal with this right now.

"Why don't you go see the Hokage, dear?"

Good save. Pass it on.

"Fine." Ino muttered.

"_I told you she wouldn't be of any help."_ Said the little voice in her head.

'Oh, shut up.'

(-)

"Um, the Yamanaka girl is here to see you, Ms." Shizune withdrew her head from the Godaime's dorrway.

Tsunade sighed. She hated the monotony of bureaucracy. Sakura perked up and titled her head to the side as Ino entered. They were no longer rivals, of course, but she still didn't feel totally comfortable around the girl.

Ino entered, looking slightly miffed. "Um, Godaime-sama, my mother told me to come to you about a problem I have."

Tsunade sighed. An eighteen year old coming into her office with boy toubles? She picked up her coffee and put the cup to her lips.

"I think I'm a paranoid schizophrenic."

The notorious gambler sprayed coffee all over her desk, effectively ruining many a legal document.

"WHAT?"

"And not the way Sakura-san is, either."

"Haruno is schizophrenic?" Tsunade gave her student a worried look.

Sakura sweatdropped and waved her arms in front of her chest. "No, of course not!" She gave Ino the look she sometimes gave Naruto when she was trying to silently tell him there would be ramen for him later if he did not make this worse.

Ino got the message and shook her head. "Anyways, I wanted to know if you could do anything to help."

Tsunade sighed again. Might as well humour her.

"So, what does this voice call himself?"

"Herself."

"Whatever." Said Tsunade, irritated.

"Let me check." Ino paused for a moment, then; "Rokubi no Kitsune, Lady of the Snow Clouds, and you would do well to remember it, insolent human."

Tsunade breathed slowly for a moment. "Yamanaka, I'm going to tell you what to do now."

Ino stared at her. She _believed _her?

"You're going to pack your bags, and you're going to go into the Northern Konohakagure forest, and you're going to find Naruto and Jiraiya and you're going to bring them back."

"Naruto!" Exclaimed Ino and Sakura in unison. After staring at each other for a moment, Ino was the one who went on. "Why Naruto?"

"Because I can't help you, and he probably can.' After being blinked at for a minute or too, the Godaime went on. "I think you're possessed by a Kitsune, a fox demon. Naruto knows demons."

"How?" Asked Ino, genuinely curious.

"He, uh, studied them." Tsunade tried to cover herself, realizing her mistake only a moment afterwards.

"Naruto? Study?" Said Sakura incredulously.

"Haurno, take Yamanaka home and to the edge of the Village. She'll have to find them on her own from there." Sakura grabbed Ino's arm and hauled her out of the room.

Tsunade sighed, looking down at the coffee stained mess before her. Pressing the button on the intercom, she cleared her throat.

"Shizune, I'm going to need copies of all those files you gave me this morning."

Muffled sobbing could be heard on the other end.

**Notes**: Wow, this chapter was twice as long as my normal ones. Don't worry, most chapters won't be this long. And the other voices Ino hears will be explained. I may have forgotten to mention that this is pretty much AU after around the time Sasuke leaves. And it's three years later. And it's NaruIno. I might change the title to something like 'Possession' or something. I know Sakura normally wouldn't be hanging out in Tsunade's office, but I imagined it being a pretty slow day until Ino showed up. Oh, and if anybody's wondering, Ino's communications with Rokubi aren't in quotations because for most of the chapter she thinks she's talking to herself. Anyways, review and tell me what you think!


	2. Into the wild

(A/N) Okay, firstly. I want to say that I think a few of you got the wrong impression of the Koorikage. She's not mean, or evil, or bitchy, she just saw a chance to rid her village of the demon fox that inhabited it and took it. The former demon vessel was Yukifuri, and if anybody wants to know more about her and her life I might do an omake at some point. Also, I want to change the name of this fic. "Cheek Stripes" is starting to really bug me. I think I'll go for Possessed. Or, if you have another idea, review and tell me!

Thank you for all the nice reviews I got! I haven't gotten around to responding to all of them all yet, but I will! I swear! And Soon!

And on a side note, I must respond to a review the old fashioned way, because it was anonymous. Dear You Are An Idiot: Rukobi is a six-tailed weasel? That's nice. But since my character is called Rokubi, that has nothing to with anything. Either you're strongly dyslexic or you're even dumber than me. And if that doesn't shut you up, we'll call it artistic license. Oh, and I never said Ino has the SAME markings as Naruto, is just said she has markings. If anybody wants to know, she has two stripes on each cheek. You could have asked instead of making a fool of yourself. :heart:

(-)

Sakura dragged Ino into the street, out of Hokage tower. Grabbing her rival by her oversized collar, the pink-haired kunoichi pulled Ino into a doorway across the street. "Have you lost your friggin mind?" Sakura hissed into her friend's ear.

Ino shrugged. "I'm not discounting that theory yet."

"If this is just some ploy for attention-"

"Sakura-san, where what makes you think I could come up with a name like Rokubi, Lady of the Snow Clouds?"

_You say it with such disdain, kitling. I'm insulted._

Ino shook her head vigorously, as if by doing so she could expel the fox spirit from her mind.

"Come on, Sakura-san, you're going to help me pack."

Ino practically had to drag the other kunoichi by the hair back to the Yamanaka residence.

(-)

_**Kit.**_

Naruto groaned and rolled over.

_**KIT.**_

Naruto groaned, with a hint of a tone that clearly said 'Five more minutes'.

**_ROUSE YOURSELF, YOU STINKING WASTE OF SKIN!_ **

A few months after the Akatsuki fiasco, Naruto had discovered that he could talk to the demon with ease. Before that, he had only seen it twice, and it hadn't exactly been the most helpful creature. The first time it established a permanent mental link with the ninja was in the middle of a mission briefing.

_**Ah, that's better. At least I can see the outside world now.**_

"AAAH!"

Tsunade peered over the file she had been reading at the startled boy. "Is something wrong, Naruto?" She asked with saccharine sweetness. Her tone was nothing but concern, but her eyebrow was twitching.

"Ano sa, It's nothing Tsunade-baba."

She continued to read the report, but the eyebrow kept twitching.

'What in the world was that?' Naruto thought.

_**Me, Kit. And Kami am I glad to be out of there.**_

'WHAT? Is the seal broken?'

_**I should be so lucky. I merely created a mental link. I now see what you see, hear what you hear.**_

'Uh, how is that different from normal?'

_**Before, I had to wait until you were asleep and preoccupied with dreams to review your memories. My apologies, but after twelve years in a cage, you'd get bored too. Did you know your brain smells like ramen?**_

'Hey, you been watching my- Wait, really? Ramen? Cool!'

"NARUTO!"

"Hwuh?" The blond started.

"Sorry to snap you out of your reverie, but do you have any idea what the mission is going to be?"

Naruto sweatdropped. "Eh…"

Back to the present…

Naruto yelped and sat up, earning a curious glance from Jiraiya, who was tending the fire. Naruto grinned at the old man and tried to make his way over to the edge of the woods. The reds and golds of the leaves rustled in the wind. With a glance back at the field, the blond saw that his teacher was reasonably occupied with eating Naruto's share of the breakfast and judged that he would be able to speak to his tenant with reasonable privacy.

_Okay, Kyuubi, what is it?_

_**There is another like myself approaching. Fairly rapidly, too.**_

Naruto's head swiveled frantically, scanning the forest. _What? Where? Who?_

_**Calm yourself, kit. Not another kyuubi. Most definitely weaker than myself, I would judge it to be two or three ranks below myself.**_

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

_**Do not celebrate, kit. That is still nothing to sneeze at, as you would say. I am Lord of Foxes. A fox demon's rank is judged by the number of tails they have. Nine is the highest, and only one kyuubi no kitsune can exist in the world at once. Pretty much anything above a five is still very powerful. If my senses do not fail me, we're dealing with at least a five, more likely six or seven. **_

_Is it unsealed?_ Naruto thought nervously.

**_No. But it isn't the same kind of kitsune as I am. It's a possession-spirit. Though it has a physical form, it prefers to inhabit a mortal in control them to cause mischief._** Naruto almost thought he heard the kitsune sniff with disdain. **_It's a technique usually used by lower-level demons. That a five-tail or higher is doing it is almost shameful. _** Naruto had to keep himself from giggling. Shinobi do not giggle.

(-)

Ino trudged through the forest. Any passerby would have thought she was mentally unbalanced, as she was muttering vehemently to herself. In truth, she was talking to her new inhabitant about Konoha, the Rookie Nine, and her team.

_Interesting. Tell me more of this fat child._

'Don't call him fat.'

_But he is._

'But don't call him that.'

_So… He is in denial?_

'No, just don't call him that.'

_But he IS._

'You can't call him that though.'

_Humans are weird._

(-)

"Have to get more food…" Naruto mumbled as he ran. Blasted Ero-sannin, sending him off first thing in the morning. It turned out that Naruto's portion of the would-be breakfast was the last of the food. Leaping into a nearby tree, Naruto proceeded to dash towards the village. Konoha had better food, but the civilian village nearby was closer.

Lost in her conversation with the kitsune, Ino failed to really look where she was going. This resulted in her walking into a tree. Said tree was relatively small, and it jiggled just a little bit. Just enough for a fairly skilled ninja to lose his footing and fall directly towards the earth, where unfortunately there waited a certain blond kunoichi.

"Would you watch where you're going?" Yelled Ino. Blinking, she did a double take. The stranger didn't look half bad, in a scruffy, I-need-a-bath sort of way. Irregularly tall, bright blue eyes, hair that had total disdain for gravity. It was somewhere between blond and orange, with rather long bangs and the excess pulled into a tight ponytail at the base of his neck. If her perception of him had not already been tainted by his rough landing, she probably would have admitted that he was cuter than Sasuke, in his own way. The funny thing is, she knew it.

The stranger made no attempt to move, staring at her headband. "Konoha nin? What are you doing out here?"

Ino rolled the stranger off, stood up and dusted herself down. "Not that it's any of your business, but I'm looking for Naruto Uzumaki."

The young man blinked. "What? Why are you looking for me?"

Ino stared right back. What? No WAY this was Naruto. Naruto was short. Naruto was loudmouthed and had the finesse of a rock. Naruto was not this cute. Three years couldn't do that much, could it?

The boy's eyes widened slowly in recognition. "Ino-san?" She didn't reply. "Ino-san!' He cried, grinning. "Hey, long time no see, huh? Come on, let's go talk to Ero-sannin! How come you were looking for me, huh?" Ino wouldn't have been able to get a word in if she had wanted to. As it was, she was too busy debating whether the fact that the young man was _Naruto_ changed that fact that he was cute.

(-)

"Baka! I send you to get food and you come back with a woman? Not that I would normally complain, but I'm hungry, dammit!"

"You're hungry? You ate my breakfast! I'm starving here, and you don't give a damn!"

Ino stared at the two Shinobi in heated debate. Were they really teacher and pupil? They acted more like schoolboys. After a few more minutes of argument, the two men sat themselves around the fire. Ino took this as her cue to do the same. 'Ero-sannin', as Naruto called him, glanced at her over steepled fingers. "So, Ino-san, what brings you to our corner of the forest?" Ino swallowed noisily.

"Well, you see, Godaime-sama sent me."

Jiraiya's eyes hardened. "What does she want from me now? Because if it's another favor you can go back right now and tell her the answer is no!"

"Actually, she said to talk to Naruto-san."

Both Naruto and Jiraiya blinked at this. "About what?" Naruto said.

Ino shifted uncomfortably. "She said you know a thing or two about demons."

Now it was Naruto's eyes that hardened. He narrowed his eyes and tensed up. Ino sensed that she was getting into sensitive territory and backed up. "I seem to find myself possessed, Naruto-san. Godaime-sama said you know your way around demons. I had a fox spirit sealed into me on a recent mission, and nobody in the village can help." The blond Shinobi seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

_Interesting… I can read nothing from this boy… Something is wrong._

Jiraiya looked at the girl. Once again, Ino heard a voice in her head.

'So that's why she needs Naruto… Well, the boy must be at least a little homesick by now. Might as well let him.' Out loud, she would hear something along the same lines… In a while.

Naruto grinned. "I'm not sure what I could do, but I'm willing to help, Ino-san!"

"Not so fast, student! I never said you could help the kunoichi! I'm still responsible for training you, remember?"

"EEEEEEEEEH? Jiraiya-sensei, she needs my help!"

Ino tilted her head down and smiled into her collar. She knew the toad-sannin would let him help, he just wanted to put up a good show.

"Nya, I'll get all your food for a week, and I'll never make fun of your pervy books again!"

Ino twitched. Never make fun of his what?

_Interesting allies you find yourself, Ino-kitling._

"Chya, if it means that much to you, you can go into Konoha on weekends. But you'd better be back at camp by noon every Monday!"

"Aie, arigato Jiraiya-sensei!" At the last exclamation, Naruto launched himself forwards to glomp his teacher. Ino found herself greatly amused, as Naruto was a good half-foot taller than the white haired man. After a brief scuffle, Jiraiya managed to removed the young man from around his neck. "Hmph. Since it's Friday, I don't see why you shouldn't go into town now."

Ino grabbed her comrade before he could attack his teacher with love again.

**Notes:** Agh. I want to go to bed. starts to snore Hehe. Were you all appropriately amused by fancy-pants speech from Kyuubi? I always thought he was like that, deep down. I don't know what that flashback scene was about. Weird. Anyways. Don't forget to review! Reviews make me update! Yes they do. And I want to know what to change the name to, if at all.


	3. Oh god, what is that smell?

(A/N) Thanks again for all the reviews! They make me dance and wiggle with joy! (wiggles) Although this is AU, this chapter kinda follows the same path as canon. Except I'm a few volumes behind the brand new releases, so I'll probably just make it up as I go past book twenty/twenty-two. sweatdrop if there's something TOTALLY wrong, let me know, but if it's just the name of Sasuke's parents and I didn't feel like researching the fanon, just let it be. 

Oh, and Ryuu-chan, can you guess who the janitor is supposed to be?

(-)

Ino and Naruto stood in front of the main gate, one ninja waiting for the other to stop staring at the Leaf symbol.

"Well?" Ino said impatiently.

Naruto blinked and looked down at her, almost as if he had forgotten she was there. Ino stared right back. The Naruto she was used to was gone, replaced by a boy who was lost, nervous, almost scared. Ino blinked again and the boy was gone, once more covered by a toothy grin and scrunched up eyes. "Na, Ino, what are we waiting for?" He ran ahead towards the gate, leaving a rather stunned Ino standing in the dust. She shook her head, collected her thoughts, and headed after him.

(-)

Sakura was finished filing her papers for the day, and Tsunade's paperwork had finally caught up with her. Basically, there was nothing for her to do at Hokage tower. After much thought, Sakura decided to go see if Ino was back yet. Doing this, of course, meant escaping from her sake-drinking teacher, who wanted her to help with the paperwork. This, in turn, meant a trip down a laundry chute, bursting through a bunch of Shinobi waiting for missions, a genjutsu to look like the janitor, and jumping out of a third story window. Sakura considered that her training for the day. Oddly, when she was pretending to be the janitor, Tsunade had almost caught her. Instead, she ran right by, looking for Sakura, and yelled "NO FUTURE!" over her shoulder at the 'janitor'.

After stopping at her rival's flower shop, a bored and dejected Sakura began to head for home. Past the arcade that meant she was halfway there, the pink haired kunoichi stopped dead. Ino was back! She was right there, half a block away, leading around a tall blond ninja by the wrist and pointing things out with an exasperated smirk. Approaching them quickly, Sakura grinned.

"Oy, Ino-pig, who's you're new boyfriend?" Lord he was cute. Almost- Maybe as cute as Sasuke. But she hadn't seen Sasuke in so long, she was starting to forget what he looked like. He _was_ cuter than this stranger, right?

"He's NOT my boyfriend!" Ino yelled.

"Sakura-chan!" called the stranger. He ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her so tight she was lifted up off her feet. "You didn't forget me already, did you?" She looked up and met his eyes, light blue and sparkling with laughter, fanged grin fixed on his face. Only one person called her Sakura-chan besides her parents, her teacher and Lee.

"Na-Naruto?" She almost yelled.

"In the flesh!" his grin grew so wide his eyes were shut.

Sakura stared. And stared. And stared some more.

No.

Naruto?

This was not Naruto.

Naruto was loudmouthed. Naruto was annoying. Naruto was stupid and had the finesse of a stump. Naruto was always trying to impress her, only to be overshadowed by Sasuke.

Well, Sasuke wasn't here anymore, was he?

Did he change so drastically in those missing years, or was he always like this, and she just didn't notice?

Sakura noticed Ino standing behind the Shinobi giving her a bear hug. The blond kunoichi was smirking, with a look that said 'I know, alright?'

Ino's head swerved to the right. Dammit. The last thing she needed now was another voice in her head.

_Dammit, Akamaru! How many times have I told you not to head off running when I'm on your back- Whose scent? But he left!_

Ino smiled as Kiba rounded the street corner, riding a four-and-a-half-foot Akamaru. The huge white dog launched himself into the air and towards the newly arrived ninja, who let go off Sakura and anticipated impact with wide eyes and a wider smile. The Inuzuka boy hopped off of his mount at the last moment, watching idly as said mount proceeded to slobber all over the blond ninja.

Naruto finally pushed the giant canine off of him and was able to stand up. "Oy, Kiba." The two shook hands, Naruto resisting the urge to wrap this comrade in a hug as well. He grinned once more. "Well, I wasn't expecting you to slobber on me, too." Kiba twitched violently, as Naruto wiped the doggy drool from his face and Ino held her sides with laughter.

Ino looked up again. Not another one…

_N-Naruto-kun… He must be back… Nobody else has that voice…_

Ino frowned. She only knew one person that stuttered even in their mind, but she had gotten over it, finally come out of her shell. And the only thing that could freak her out again was…

The return of the one person who helped her out of that shell.

Oh no.

Why now?

"Hey, whatcha doin over here, Hinata-san?" Ino heard and "Eep!" and gritted her teeth. Dammit Chouji!

Naruto turned around and waved at the approaching ninja. Chouji, munching as always, Hinata squirming and playing with her fingers, and Shikamaru looking at the entire group as if they were too troublesome for him to care. Which they were, but it still wasn't very nice.

"Hinata-san! Chouji-san! Shikamaru-san!" Naruto yelled at them all, causing Shikamaru to wince.

Chouji's clothes stayed much the same, a did Hinata's except for a light blue coat in place of the sand coloured one. Shikamaru, however, was sporting a jounin vest, causing Naruto to stare for a moment. "Lucky bastard." He said loudly, still staring. Shikamaru sighed and rolled his eyes.

Ino smiled at the reunion from a few feet back. After a few mintues, Ino said loudly. "Don't you think we should let Naruto get home? He hasn't been there in three years." Everyone fell silent. All the Leaf Shinobi exchanged glances. Chouji decided to go home because he had run out of chips, Shikamaru said it was all too troublesome. Kiba said he had nothing better to do so he'd come with them. Sakura agreed to come for much the same reason. So the group heading towards Naruto's old home was only five strong.

As they entered the apartment building, Ino sniffed cautiously. Something smelled _really_ bad. Somebody needed to clean their rooms, and badly. Suddenly, Naruto flung open the door to apartment number four. Ino and Sakura wretched, while Hinata covered her nose with her hand. Kiba, with his heightened sense of smell, screamed and fell over. Naruto grinned and held his arms out as if to hug his former home.

"Ah, it's good to be back!"

The family of raccoons that had been living on his futon squeaked and disappeared through various holes in the wall.

_By the hells, how can a pup live like this?_ Ino heard a mental gag.

Hinata backed up a few feet. "N-Naruto-kun, I don't think you should stay here." The blond turned to her, perplexed. "Why not? Is something wrong?"

_**Idiot pup! This rooms smells like the two-hundred-year-old carcass of the rat demon I killed!**_

"Naruto, retarded pigs with leprosy would be ashamed of living here!" Screamed Ino.

Naruto winced as he was blasted from the outside and inside.

Still gagging, Sakura nonetheless felt the need to add to the conversation. "Listen to us, Naruto. You need to stay in a hotel or something until you have a chance to clean this place."

Kiba had blacked out.

"Okay." Pouted Naruto. "Uh, now I'll have to go see Tsunade-baba and ask for a mission. Everybody always charge me extra…" The agreement slowly degenerated into a mumbled rant.

"Why would they do that, Naruto-kun?" Said Sakura with a raised eyebrow.

"Erk…"

_**Fool of a kit…**_

"Haha, guess they just don't like pranksters!" Said Naruto with a grin and a sweatdrop.

Ino gave him a sidelong look, but before anyone could ask questions he jumped right into the next subject. "So, should I lock up?"

Sakura glared at him. "Who would want to go in there?" She yelled.

Naruto shrugged and hoisted the unconscious Kiba onto his shoulder, walked down the stairs. "So, off to Tsunade-baba?"

"Na.. Naruto-kun…"

Hinata was left standing in the dark hallway, staring at the retreating backs of her friends and comrades.

"You could stay with the Hyuugas…" She finished weakly.

(A/N) Blah. There, done. Next one should be up next week, as per usual. Having said that, March break swiftly approaches and I might take the slacker route. Especially because I got lots less reviews for the last chapter. You people made me cry! Cry, I tell you! I hope you're proud of yourselves.

Okay, not really.

Right. Anyways. Pocky for regular reviewers! And my undying love, but let's face it, who wants that?

Tch. I was hoping to get into Ino's newfound abilities this chapter, but I gues it'll have to wait. Oh well. Next chapter is gonna be fun:D


	4. Staring Contest

Tsunade stared at the legal document before her. It was stained with various shades if brown, wrinkled and crumpled. It was the most important document in Konoha's history. It was – Had been – a peace treaty between Konoha and Sunga, ensuring another fifty years of peace. She had been just about to sign it when a rather severe shock from the Yamanaka girl made her spit up her coffee. This was one of the many documents that there was only one copy of, and she couldn't have used a photocopy anyway, as the Kazekage's signature was on the original. She couldn't hand them this, spitting coffee on a peace treaty was not particularly diplomatic. And she couldn't call them and ask for another copy, either.

As the Godaime was staring at the defiant piece of paper on her desk with her head in her hands, an all-too familiar face popped in the door.

"Tsunade-baba! I need a mission!"

Tsunade looked up to see Naruto, clad in black and dark orange and demanding work. Ino and Sakura stood to one side of him and Hinata and Kiba to the other. His eyes were closed tight as usual, so he didn't see the sake jug flying towards his him and could do nothing to stop it from hitting him in the forehead. It bounced off and flipped through the air, spilling sake on Hinata and Sakura, before smashing against the wall and splashing the rest on Ino. The Hokage raised an eyebrow, then leapt for the poor boy's throat.

"You come back after three years and that's all you have to say to me?" Her hands were gripping the tall boy's collar. "I am going to put you in so much PAIN-"

Hinata's eyes widened. "Ho- Hokage-sama! Please stop strangling Naruto-kun!" She pleaded, but to little avail. Even with her arms nearly straightened above her head, Tsunade's attempts to intimidate the boy were severely handicapped by the fact that his toes were still scraping the ground. Naruto, however, instinctively simpered and whined at the verbal abuse he was getting. A similar scene had occurred a few times before he left, and his brain was so busy remembering the pain that it forgot to notice that he could easily overpower the Godaime.

**_BLOODY KIT. _**Came a rumbling deep in his mind. **_YOU'RE STRONGER THAN THE VIXEN. STOP LETTING HER BERATE YOU AND GET WHAT YOU CAME FOR._**

The reminder was unneeded however, as a sigh came from Naruto's side. He craned his head to see Ino trying to wring the sake out of her clothes. "Hokage-sama, you should really let him down. You're the one who sent him away with that hermit, and you never specified a time."

The blonde leader's wrath now turned on the young flower-arranger, while Naruto still dangled (sort of).

"That's not the problem and you know it.' She dropped her 'little brother' and seemed to pout for a moment. Naruto stared at her, rubbing his neck tentatively. "What is?" he asked, rather bewildered.

Tsunade rounded on him again. "You know perfectly well what is!" She said. "You're gone for three years and you greet me with a 'Hey, give me money'? Not in this lifetime!"

Naruto stared at her for a moment longer, before throwing her head back and letting out a huge laugh. He then rushed the foot or so forward and clamped his 'aunt' in a bear hug similar to the ones he had been giving out in the street earlier.

"It's good to see you again, Tsunade-baba." He said warmly, his voice muffled because he was pressing his face to the top of her head. Tsunade growled and stiffened, but slowly relaxed in the monstrous grip of the other blonde ninja. Hinata smiled softly, while Kiba just stared and Sakura and Ino tried to stifle giggles at the thought of _those_ two out of anyone acting mushy.

The Hokage broke off suddenly and walked back to the desk, where she opened a drawer and pulled out another sake jug (receiving stares from Hinata and Ino and a weary sigh from Sakura). "So, what was this you were saying about a mission?"

Naruto looked mildly surprised, then grinned and threw his arm in the air. "Yes! I need a mission, and soon!"

The Godaime sighed and flipped open a folder sitting on her desk. "Well, we have a few C missions sitting around-"

"Noooooooo!" Whined Naruto, screwing up his face. "I need a B or higher! The D and C missions are boring, plus I need the money!"

Tsunade twitched and stood up, leaning towards him over her desk. "I can't give you A and S rank missions! You're still a gennin, remember?" She gestured towards the surrounding Shinobi. "The highest I could give them is an A, and that's only if the jounin are busy!"

Naruto's mouth hung open for a moment, before it was put into use once more. "Tsunade-baba!" he cried. "You can't do that to me! I need the money now and the next chunnin exam isn't until…" He faltered. "Um…"

Sakura sighed. "The last one was three weeks ago, Naruto."

"Th… Three weeks ago?" shrieked Naruto. "That means the next isn't for more than five months! I'm supposed to do D rank missions until then? Where in the heck am I going to live?" the blonde had just paused for breath when Tsunade pulled back her arm, still holding a sake jug. Anticipating another piece of pottery aimed at his forehead, Naruto closed his mouth and put his hands over his head.

"As I was _saying_…" Said the Hokage through clenched teeth. "I have s special mission for you, it's C rank, but it's not your average mission." She steepled her fingers in front of her and leant her chin on her hands. "Naruto…" She said seriously. "I charge you with the heavy and difficult task of…"

She trailed off, noticing the fact that her audience was leaning forward at a forty-five degree angle. Every ninja in the room apart from her was holding their breath as though there was a gas leak in the building.

"Well, here's you're mission. It's for all five of you, and any other members of the Rookie Nine that you can get to help."

Forty-five degrees became thrity-five.

"Take Naruto down the street to the Kinuwata barbar's and have that ridiculouos ponytail snipped off of him."

"_WHAT_?" Yelled five different ninja. Tsunade's formerly entranced crowd was now merely enraged.

"TSUNADE-BABA!" Naruto was audible even over the din. Years of having to scream has it's benefits. "I need missions that will actually get me enough money to pay rent, what kind of joke are you trying to pull?"

The Hokage was on her feet once more. "Look, I can't give you anything else! I'll give you enough each week for food, but you'll have to take care of lodgings with whatever money you can get from C missions. Any more and the Council won't just have my head, but yours on top of it!"

"Garnished with ramen?" Asked Naruto hopefully.

Sakura looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. "You don't even know what garnished means, do you?"

"_ENOUGH."_ Tsunade had the floor once again. "Naruto, I'll help you however I can, but you're going to have to rely on guys like these." She gestured to the ninja who stood around him. "I'm sorry I can't do more." A small grin made it's was to her face, seemingly before consulting her brain. "Now, if you're willing to accept D-grade pay, I think you'd like to take care of that rat-tail now, wouldn't you?'

The Shinobi stared at her for a moment longer before turning on Naruto and carrying him bodily through the office door.

Tsunade's grin widened as she shooed them away with a brisk hand gesture, then sat down to resume her staring contest with the peace treaty.

(A/N) Okay. New fourth chapter. The stage that the last one was setting up didn't really work for me any more, which is why this was on hiatus for so long. But there's not enough Naru/Ino out there, and I need to do justice to my favourite crack pairing. Second favourite, actually, but as nobody here's read Cat Out Of The Bag you'll never know the first. (It's not a Naruto fanfic, so don't worry yourselves about it)

Anyways, slightly… MASSIVELY different plot. Slightly different tone. But I'm still keeping the Bingo cameos. Those will be fun.


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